IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. RUN PETER CHHOUN, Defendant and Appellant. S084996 San Bernardino County Superior Court FSB08658 February 11, 2021 Justice Corrigan authored the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and Justices Liu, Cuéllar, Kruger, Groban, and Kim* concurred. * Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Five, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution. PEOPLE v. CHHOUN S084996 Opinion of the Court by Corrigan, J. During a home invasion robbery, defendant Run Peter Chhoun and fellow gang members killed the entire Nguyen family except three-year-old Dennis. The child was wounded and left alone overnight with the bodies of his parents and siblings. Defendant was tried with alleged accomplice Samreth Pan. The court dismissed all charges against Pan at the close of the People’s case. Defendant was convicted of five counts of murder, one count of residential burglary, and three counts of residential robbery with enhancements for personal use of a firearm.1 He was acquitted of the attempted murder of Dennis. The jury found true special circumstances of murder during burglary and robbery and the murder of multiple victims.2 It set the penalty at death. We affirm the judgment. 1 Penal Code sections 187, subdivision (a), 459, 211, 12022.5, subdivision (a). Although the jury found the personal use allegation true for the residential burglary and robbery charges, it determined the allegation had not been proven for the murder charges. 2 Penal Code section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17) and (a)(3). All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise specified. 1 PEOPLE v. CHHOUN Opinion of the Court by Corrigan, J. I. BACKGROUND A. Guilt Phase In the summer of 1995, defendant (nicknamed “Chaka”) and Pan (nicknamed “Rusty”) were “shot callers” and “O.G.s”3 in the Tiny Rascals Gang (TRG). Vinh Tran (“Scrappy”) and William Evans were junior members. Although not officially a member of the gang, Nhung Tran (“Karol”) “took care of” young girls who associated with TRG members. All five were originally charged together. Because Scrappy and Evans were juveniles, however, their cases were later severed, as was the case against Karol.4 Evans and Karol testified at trial pursuant to plea agreements. 5 3 The term “O.G.,” which stands for “original gangster,” is generally used as a term of respect for older or veteran gang members. In Asian gangs, the label is awarded based on experience level rather than age. Even young gang members may rise to leadership if they accrue sufficient criminal experience. O.G.s typically advise younger members how to plan and carry out crimes, and how to evade detection. A “shot caller” is a respected gang member who plans how a specific crime will be committed. 4 Although they share the same last name, Vinh (Scrappy) and Nhung (Karol) Tran are not related. To avoid confusion, we refer to them as “Scrappy” and “Karol,” as they were consistently referred to in the trial court. ...
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